Seriously - this was something that I was NOT prepared for when I started the journey toward motherhood. Nobody told me that Metamucil was going to be my drink of choice OR that I would actually be the person buying prunes at the supermarket. Prunes? Metamucil? It's like I woke up one morning and instead of being 29, I was 89.
Constipation is not a pretty subject by any means. It's just downright awful. I guess the combination of prenatal vitamins plus hormone changes just equal the perfect recipe for um...let's see....how to be politically correct here... blocking the pipes? Let's just be honest. If you can't poop, ya can't poop. And if you're in this situation, or have been at one point, you're reading this thinking, "Oh my gosh. YES. It's not just me!" You're right. It's not. Pregnancy constipation sneaks up on a lot of mommies-to-be out there.
This is definitely not a fun, 'feel good about pregnancy' post. This is a "I'm warning you now - stock up on apple juice, Metamucil, prunes, raisins and whatever other home remedies you can find" kind of post. I would spend so much time reading through different pregnancy boards trying to see what other people would recommend. When I mentioned it to my doctor, he kind of smirked and said, "Yeah, it will probably get worse." AND IT DID - ESPECIALLY RIGHT AFTER PREGNANCY.
However, there is a bright side to this. Hard to believe, right? It didn't last forever. Don't I sound like a broken record? I say that over so many things when it comes to the bad parts of pregnancy. But I just can't reiterate that enough.... just stick with me here.
Not all parts of pregnancy are beautiful - trust me. And the pregnancy glow? Uh, yeah. That's just you being flushed from trying to... you know...(insert potty joke here).
In the hopes of trying to help out other mommies who suffer from the occasional, what did we call it??, blocked pipe, here's what helped me:
1. Drink Metamucil. Seriously it is super easy on your insides and if you get the orange citrus flavor, it's not that bad. Pour a scoop into half a bottle of ice cold water and chug chug chug. Do this as many times a day as necessary. I did it about once a day, sometimes twice.
2. Eat raisins. Did I mention that I hate raisins? This came from a much, MUCH older doctor - the one who delivered me many moons ago - when he ran into my mom and she told him all about my pregnancy (evidently she told him ALL ABOUT my pregnancy) he said he treated over 1000 pregnant ladies and would give them raisins during and after pregnancy just for the purpose of treating constipation. I tried to eat one of those little boxes each day.
3. Drink apple juice. This one isn't so bad. just a couple of glasses a day should help.
4. Exercise. I'm going to be honest. I didn't do this, but I read a lot about it and it's supposed to help get things 'moving' if you know what I mean.
5. Eat prunes. This one is self-explanatory.
Nobody understands pregnancy constipation until she's in the middle of it. In my experience, it didn't last the entire time. Mainly it was just at the beginning, but it was NO JOKE. I never expected it to be as bad as it was, but thankfully, I'm a survivor!
If you can make it through pregnancy constipation, you can pretty much make it through anything. Talking about poop (or the lack thereof) is just going to become a regular part of your everyday vocabulary, especially after junior is born. Remember that you're getting closer and closer each day to being over this hurdle, so grab some raisins, drink your Metamucil and keep reading. Hopefully, if anything, I'm keeping you entertained during the process. ;)
image source: baby-gaga.com
Constipation is not a pretty subject by any means. It's just downright awful. I guess the combination of prenatal vitamins plus hormone changes just equal the perfect recipe for um...let's see....how to be politically correct here... blocking the pipes? Let's just be honest. If you can't poop, ya can't poop. And if you're in this situation, or have been at one point, you're reading this thinking, "Oh my gosh. YES. It's not just me!" You're right. It's not. Pregnancy constipation sneaks up on a lot of mommies-to-be out there.
This is definitely not a fun, 'feel good about pregnancy' post. This is a "I'm warning you now - stock up on apple juice, Metamucil, prunes, raisins and whatever other home remedies you can find" kind of post. I would spend so much time reading through different pregnancy boards trying to see what other people would recommend. When I mentioned it to my doctor, he kind of smirked and said, "Yeah, it will probably get worse." AND IT DID - ESPECIALLY RIGHT AFTER PREGNANCY.
However, there is a bright side to this. Hard to believe, right? It didn't last forever. Don't I sound like a broken record? I say that over so many things when it comes to the bad parts of pregnancy. But I just can't reiterate that enough.... just stick with me here.
Not all parts of pregnancy are beautiful - trust me. And the pregnancy glow? Uh, yeah. That's just you being flushed from trying to... you know...(insert potty joke here).
In the hopes of trying to help out other mommies who suffer from the occasional, what did we call it??, blocked pipe, here's what helped me:
1. Drink Metamucil. Seriously it is super easy on your insides and if you get the orange citrus flavor, it's not that bad. Pour a scoop into half a bottle of ice cold water and chug chug chug. Do this as many times a day as necessary. I did it about once a day, sometimes twice.
2. Eat raisins. Did I mention that I hate raisins? This came from a much, MUCH older doctor - the one who delivered me many moons ago - when he ran into my mom and she told him all about my pregnancy (evidently she told him ALL ABOUT my pregnancy) he said he treated over 1000 pregnant ladies and would give them raisins during and after pregnancy just for the purpose of treating constipation. I tried to eat one of those little boxes each day.
3. Drink apple juice. This one isn't so bad. just a couple of glasses a day should help.
4. Exercise. I'm going to be honest. I didn't do this, but I read a lot about it and it's supposed to help get things 'moving' if you know what I mean.
5. Eat prunes. This one is self-explanatory.
Nobody understands pregnancy constipation until she's in the middle of it. In my experience, it didn't last the entire time. Mainly it was just at the beginning, but it was NO JOKE. I never expected it to be as bad as it was, but thankfully, I'm a survivor!
If you can make it through pregnancy constipation, you can pretty much make it through anything. Talking about poop (or the lack thereof) is just going to become a regular part of your everyday vocabulary, especially after junior is born. Remember that you're getting closer and closer each day to being over this hurdle, so grab some raisins, drink your Metamucil and keep reading. Hopefully, if anything, I'm keeping you entertained during the process. ;)
image source: baby-gaga.com